CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD 
THEN as the years roll on, lands far and wide 
Sink once again beneath the flowing tide ; 
And Albion's scenes that in Devonian days 
Had hailed the sun become but water-ways ; 
With here and there some parts of the terrain 5 
As banks and isles still masters of the main. 
Erin, that had for long held up her breast 
Above the waves, has also sunk to rest. 
Scotia still holds her plateaus high and dry, 
And east they stretch, continuous territory 10 
With Scandinavia's elevated plains, 
Big-rivered vales, and lofty mountain chains. 
The while within the western hemisphere 
New lands have scaled the ocean here and there. 
Much can be done by numbers, though be small 1 5 
The separate units that make up the all. 
So now the rhizopods some small as dust 
Their layers have spread upon the sea-floor crust ; 
And raised, with countless microscopic shells, 
Vast limestone beds beneath the briny swells. 20 
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